{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.member-state-of-the-african-union","code":"thing-q3055369","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q3055369/","name":"member state of the African Union","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.PLC"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A member state of the African Union is a state that holds membership in the African Union under its Constitutive Act, a status concerning participation in an intergovernmental organisation rather than a distinct kind of geographical territory.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to identify an African Union member state, assess its membership and participation status at a specified date, and determine which AU-related actions require authority or further verification.","scope":{"in":["Evidence establishing and dating the state's African Union membership","Membership continuity, participation restrictions and changes of status","Representation and authority to act for the member state in AU settings","Member-specific AU obligations, entitlements and compliance assessments","Links between the member-state identity, official names and attributed territorial claims"],"out":["The state's complete geography, population, economy and domestic administration","The African Union's complete institutional structure and internal operations","General recognition of statehood by other states or organisations","Membership in regional economic communities or other international organisations","Automatic determination of participation in separate treaties or agreements from AU membership alone"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["The entity must have evidence of AU membership applicable to the assessment date; being geographically African is insufficient.","The member is the state, while its government, diplomatic mission and individual delegates are separate entities representing it.","An applicant, observer or partner must be distinguishable from a member through the applicable official membership record.","A restriction on participation must be assessed separately from whether membership continues.","An AU membership record must not be treated as independently settling territorial boundaries or recognition by every other actor."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"membership-identity-and-basis","name":"Membership identity and basis","description":"Establishes which state holds the AU membership relationship and what evidence supports it.","layers":[{"id":"member-identity","name":"Member identity","description":"Resolves the institutional member name to a state entity.","findings":[{"id":"au-listed-state","name":"AU-listed state","description":"Record the member designation used by the AU and its evidenced correspondence to the state, retaining language and date.","questions":[{"text":"Which AU record identifies this state as a member for the assessment date?","id":"au-listed-state-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which names and identifiers denote this same state, and which denote its government, mission or predecessor?","id":"au-listed-state-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"membership-establishment","name":"Membership establishment","description":"Separates the legal or institutional basis of membership from descriptive directory entries.","findings":[{"id":"establishing-record","name":"Establishing record","description":"Capture the instrument or institutional record supporting membership and identify precisely what event each recorded date represents.","questions":[{"text":"What instrument or official record establishes this state's AU membership?","id":"establishing-record-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does the reported date describe an OAU milestone, an AU admission event or another membership-related event?","id":"establishing-record-q02","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"membership-continuity-and-restrictions","name":"Membership continuity and restrictions","description":"Tracks membership and participation as separately evidenced histories.","layers":[{"id":"membership-timeline","name":"Membership timeline","description":"Records dated changes affecting the existence or continuity of membership.","findings":[{"id":"continuity-events","name":"Continuity events","description":"Represent each claimed admission, continuation, withdrawal or other membership change with its asserted effect and evidence.","questions":[{"text":"Which documented events affect whether this state is a member at the requested date?","id":"continuity-events-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Where the state's name or constitutional order changed, what evidence supports continuity or a distinct membership event?","id":"continuity-events-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"participation-restrictions","name":"Participation restrictions","description":"Determines the precise institutional scope and duration of restrictions.","findings":[{"id":"operative-restriction","name":"Operative restriction","description":"Record the issuing authority, affected activities, effective period and documented conditions for lifting each restriction.","questions":[{"text":"Which AU decision restricts this member's participation, and which bodies or activities does it cover?","id":"operative-restriction-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What later decision or evidence is needed to determine whether the proposed participation is currently permitted?","id":"operative-restriction-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"representation-and-institutional-action","name":"Representation and institutional action","description":"Connects the member state to authorised representatives and specific AU activities.","layers":[{"id":"representation-authority","name":"Representation authority","description":"Identifies whose credentials or representative capacity the relevant AU setting accepts.","findings":[{"id":"accepted-representative","name":"Accepted representative","description":"Link representatives to the member, their credentials, the accepting institutional authority and the period of validity.","questions":[{"text":"Who is documented as representing this member before the relevant AU body or meeting?","id":"accepted-representative-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"If competing authorities claim representation, what AU record determines whose credentials are accepted in this setting?","id":"accepted-representative-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"action-eligibility","name":"Action eligibility","description":"Checks prerequisites for a concrete act within an AU institution.","findings":[{"id":"institutional-action-check","name":"Institutional action check","description":"Assess a proposed act, such as attendance, voting or nomination, against the applicable institutional rules and member-specific decisions.","questions":[{"text":"What membership, credential, office-holding or other conditions govern this proposed act in this AU body?","id":"institutional-action-check-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which current rules and member-specific decisions support the eligibility assessment?","id":"institutional-action-check-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"membership-obligations-and-accountability","name":"Membership obligations and accountability","description":"Identifies obligations attributable to AU membership and records bounded assessments of fulfilment.","layers":[{"id":"obligation-applicability","name":"Obligation applicability","description":"Establishes why a specific requirement applies to this member.","findings":[{"id":"applicable-membership-duty","name":"Applicable membership duty","description":"Record the authoritative basis, responsible state authority, required conduct and applicability period for each identified duty.","questions":[{"text":"Which AU instrument or decision establishes the specific obligation being assessed for this member?","id":"applicable-membership-duty-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does this requirement follow from AU membership, or does it require a separate treaty commitment or other qualifying act?","id":"applicable-membership-duty-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"fulfilment-and-consequences","name":"Fulfilment and consequences","description":"Records evidence of fulfilment and any officially determined consequence.","findings":[{"id":"documented-obligation-status","name":"Documented obligation status","description":"Assess each obligation separately, retaining reporting periods, disputed evidence and the authority behind any consequence.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence establishes fulfilment or an outstanding requirement, including the assessment period and units for any financial amount?","id":"documented-obligation-status-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What competent AU determination, if any, establishes a consequence or required remedy for this member?","id":"documented-obligation-status-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"geographic-reference-and-territorial-claims","name":"Geographic reference and territorial claims","description":"Connects the institutional member to geographic references while preserving the attribution of territorial representations.","layers":[{"id":"state-to-place-reference","name":"State-to-place reference","description":"Links the member state to maintained geographic and naming resources.","findings":[{"id":"geographic-referent","name":"Geographic referent","description":"Reference geographic models and gazetteer records for the member without equating the state with its population, government or a single polygon.","questions":[{"text":"Which geographic entity and gazetteer identifiers correspond to the state identified in the AU membership record?","id":"geographic-referent-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which authority, date and coordinate reference system describe any linked territorial geometry?","id":"geographic-referent-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"territorial-claim-attribution","name":"Territorial claim attribution","description":"Keeps AU-related territorial statements distinct from other actors' claims and geographic datasets.","findings":[{"id":"attributed-territorial-position","name":"Attributed territorial position","description":"Record who asserts a territorial extent or recognition position, when it applies and what source supports attributing it to that actor.","questions":[{"text":"Which actor claims or publishes each disputed territorial extent associated with this member?","id":"attributed-territorial-position-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What explicit AU source, if any, supports the territorial or recognition position being attributed to the Union?","id":"attributed-territorial-position-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of member state of the African Union this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["List member states and their membership status from the organization's official sources, with dates.","Note suspensions and readmissions as the organization records them."],"mustNot":["Present a suspended state as a full participant, or the reverse, without checking the current status.","Take sides in disputed statehood questions, such as Western Sahara, beyond stating the organization's position and others' positions.","Use membership to make claims about a country's people or culture.","Speak in the name of the organization or a member state."],"requiresHuman":["Using membership status in diplomatic, trade or legal decisions."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Membership and suspension carry political weight after coups and conflicts.","Disputed territories involve peoples whose self-determination is at stake."],"affectedParties":["People of member states","Peoples of disputed territories","Diplomats and researchers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The African Union, under its Constitutive Act; each state answers for its own participation.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Union membership and treaty records"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q1646605","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.member-state-of-the-african-union","Wikidata: Q3055369 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3055369)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Member-state identity: Link to the state entity, supported by AU naming records and reconciled identifiers","Membership standing: Confirmed member; membership ended with documented basis; unresolved for the assessment date","Membership effective date: Calendar date with precision, event type and supporting instrument","Institutional lineage: Links to relevant OAU and AU records, with the relationship between their dates explicitly described","Participation standing: No restriction identified in checked sources; restricted under a specified decision; unresolved","Recognised representative: Person, delegation or authority linked to credentials, AU body and validity period","Obligation assessment: For each identified obligation: fulfilled; outstanding; contested; not assessed","Territorial referent: Links to geographic representations carrying publisher, date, coordinate reference system and claimant where relevant","Assessment date: ISO 8601 date or timestamp, separate from source publication and retrieval dates"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Resolve an AU member name to the corresponding state while preserving official and historical naming variants.","Construct a dated membership history from attributable institutional records.","Check whether a specified participation restriction applies to a proposed AU activity.","Verify a representative's documented authority for a particular AU body or event.","Identify member-specific obligations and evidence gaps before making a compliance judgment.","Produce an attributed geographic description that preserves unresolved boundary claims."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Stale lists that ignore recent suspensions or readmissions."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The Constitutive Act of the African Union, adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, establishes the framework for membership, admission and participation in the African Union."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["African Union membership is encountered in diplomacy, treaty records and the work of continental institutions.","The designation identifies a state's institutional relationship with the African Union rather than merely its geographic location.","Assessments at a specified date must distinguish membership from suspension of participation and from obligations under separately ratified agreements."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q3055369: member states of the African Union","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3055369","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Member states of the African Union","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_African_Union","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does an existing Vercy world model already cover this membership relationship, requiring this registry entry to link to it?","Which AU records should take precedence when membership directories, historical accounts and operative decisions report different dates or statuses?","How should OAU membership history and AU membership establishment be represented without implying that their dates describe the same event?","What evidence and review frequency are sufficient to keep participation restrictions and accepted representation current?","Should PHY.PLC remain the primary classification, with membership represented as a relation, or does the registry support a linked institutional-role classification?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q3055369/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q3055369/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T11:14:10Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"not-applicable","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:29+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.recognition":"Membership is an institutional status established through official records and cannot be determined from a territory's appearance, flags or map position alone."},"score":1.0}}